Next-Generation Datacenters = Next-Generation Security

by Dave Shackleford

The modern datacenter is changing dramaticallyâ€”and much of that change is due to the rapid adoption of x86 server virtualization as a production-grade technology over the last decade. Starting from zero in 2001, when VMware launched the first server-class product for x86 hardware, 53 percent of mission-critical workloads were virtualized by 2011, according to a survey conducted by the company. When considering all applications, 59 percent were running on virtual systems.1 Also in 2011, Veeam Software, a provider of virtualization backup solutions, found that 39 percent of all servers in enterprise environments were virtualized, but 87 percent of enterprises were currently using some sort of virtualization.2